The Wind in the Willows: Tales from the Riverbank

Wind in the Willows Pop-up Books

by Kenneth Grahame, Paul Bransom (Illustrations)

The Wind in the Willows Tales from the Riverbank Kenneth Grahame Illustrated by Paul Bransom The Wind in the Willows is a children's novel by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animals in a pastoral version of England. The novel is notable for its mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie and celebrated for its evocation of the nature of the Thames valley. In 1908, Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England. He moved back to Cookham, Berkshire, where he had been brought up and spent his time by the River Thames doing much as the animal characters in his book do—namely, as one of the phrases from the book says, "simply messing about in boats"—and wrote down the bed-time stories he had been telling his son Alistair. In 1909, Theodore Roosevelt, then President of the United States, wrote to Grahame to tell him that he had "read it and reread it, and have come to accept the characters as old friends". The novel was in its thirty-first printing when playwright A. A. Milne adapted a part of it for the stage as Toad of Toad Hall in 1929. In 2003, The Wind in the Willows was listed at number 16 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Animals

140 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Kenneth Grahame was a British writer. He is best remembered for the classic of children's literature The Wind in the Willows (1908). Scottish by birth, he spent most of his childhood with his grandmother in England, following the death of his mother and his father's inability to look after the children. After attending St Edward's School in Oxford, his ambition to attend university was thwarted and he joined the Bank of England, where he had a successful career. Before writing The Wind in the Willows, he published three other books: Pagan Papers (1893), The Golden Age (1895), and Dream Days (1898).

Reviews

[Leo . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved these books as a child. I would often read Tales Of The Riverbank when the family went out for pick-nics in the summer school holidays. Very nostalgic, memories of taking off socks and shoes and wading along the babbling brook. As children we often played the roles of mole and toad and the like. Ah! The memories.🐯👍


What a great day by the riverbank

Played poo sticks on the humpback bridge over the stream

My stick, unfortunately, as always, it sank

But that day, we had a scream

Watched in awe at the otters as they played, such fun on show

Frolicking in the water, splashing and bounding about

Tossing a fish in the air, and then letting it go

Squabbling with each other, fighting over a trout

A kingfisher swooped, caught a fish as it breached the water, creating a tiny rainbow

So quick, it startled us, a beautiful moment in time

It hung in the air for a second, and we marvelled at the iridescent colours, in the Sun's glow

Blues and reds, yellows and indigo, and a slight tinge of lime

A water boatman, skated but to no avail, pour soul

It tried to dodge, but it was too late

A carp opened up its maw, and swallowed it whole

Quite feel sorry, for the poor invertebrate

Time went so quickly, just like my prose as I write

The rhyme is flowing now, and try as I might

The words that rhyme

are now in line

Not staggered, intermittent, but in a row

As the memories, flash in my mind, and flow

Back to the nostalgia, here we go

A woodpecker could be heard, rat a tat tat

We saw a monster, disappear into the bank, a huge water rat

The butterflies collected nectar alongside the bees

From buttercups, bluebells, purple water lilies, and daisies

A weeping willow sagged, as if the leaves were testing the temperature as the river run

Cascading like a beautiful green waterfall, differing hues in the rays of the Sun

We played rounders and our friends dog kept stealing the ball

What great fun was had by all

We started jumping like frogs, shaking our pants

In a meadow we had a picnic on a blanket and were overrun with ants

A wasp created havoc when we opened the jam

And the beetles were having a feast on the mustard and ham

We had a sip of grandma's lemonade, it quenched our thirst in the summer heat

We paddled barefoot and the water was soothing to our tired feet

The older children built a den in the woods and were gone for a while

I was thirsty, and I slipped, searching for them, on a turn stile

They drank what was left of the homemade lemonade and, it went down well, so sweet

I landed in a cow pat, and all laughed with me

And I had to wipe the muck from my clothes by, rubbing against a tree

It was a funny day, had by all

And I made a joke about my fall

We made a Tarzan swing on a branch of a big old oak

And the children loved it, as did the old folk

A red fox danced across a field of dandelions

And we saw a red kite, perched upon a metal pylon

Some deer grazed, only ten feet away

We watched in awe, as the fawns, did chase and play

Leaping, springing, so high in the air

As their mothers grazed, without a care

On the forty shades of green, and the flowers and shrubs

And a majestic stoat, in a pure white coat, scratched bark, looking for grubs

A water vole gnawed, on fresh water grass

And the Sun glistened on the water, it looked like glass

As the evening drew in, and the Sun began to set

We all agreed that it was a day, never to forget. 👍🐯


Such pleasant memories!!!


Took a rural stroll recently, it was Delightful

All the nature on show, it was Insightful

So much material for my brain to Analyse

This beautiful Garden, before my very Eyes

The swifts stooped and glided across the tall Grass

Scores of them, like miniature Fighter Jets, doing a flight Pass

The Birds was so elegant, as they caught insects in the Evening Sun

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “This is my Idea of Real Fun.”

[Leo . · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child I adored these tales. The TV show was great with real live animals from the riverbank and the calming voice of the narrator. Imagine living by a riverbank and having breakfast with the animals like Snow White. To watch the otters play. To listen to the water as it babbles over the stones and pebbles. To sing with the birds and marvel at the kingfishers with their iridescent feathers and absolute beauty. To wonder at the bees and butterflies as they collect nectar from colourful flowers. The purity of nature, the damsel flies and dragon flies. The water boatmen skimming across the surface of the water and water voles gnawing on water grass. A carp perhaps breaching the surface with a gaping maw trying to catch an insect. To see the badger and the fox. The deer and stoat. The owl and woodpecker. So much beauty from the riverbank. What a wonderful garden we live in.👍🐯👍🐯

In the woods:

I could sit here for hours...watching the babbling brook stream by
Exited by water boatmen and the colours of an iridescent Dragon fly
That sound of the water cascading over pebbles...soothing...real
For me this time alone...is a big deal
The silence only disturbed by birds singing
And in the distance...church bells ringing
No traffic or crowds...serene...peaceful...mellow
No buildings or tarmac or...lines of yellow
No stop signs...no entries...or cautionary laws
No infrastructure, technology...boundaries or walls
# leo'sesotericprose

[Amanda]

Emma enjoyed reading this story. Just the right length of story for her to finish at night.

[Lisa Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My girls are 3.5 and 5, and I thought the vocabulary would be too difficult for them to understand and engage with. I was wrong! They were both mesmerized and had to read Book 2 the following time I read to them at bedtime. I found that if I added a few words of explanation after difficult words, they were able to follow the story just fine.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

First 5 chapters of Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The illustrations really drove the story for Alissa. She would look ahead at pictures and want to read until we got to the part that explained the picture.

Excellent beginning; quickly deteriorated into Mr. Toad's illegal activities and violence.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This actually surprised me as I read it. It is basic for the young reader-listener but it still has a storyline (and a cute one at that) to it. Letting kids know it's okay to try something new, it's okay to have 'new' friends etc. the illustrations are nice to the eye as well.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

a section of the wind in the willows story broken down for younger readers

[Ratforcekids]

This book is the first in this beginning reader series, introducing young readers to the classic story of The Wind in the Willows.

[Shiny Ajit · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book for kids

[Fiona]

I liked when they fell out of the boat.